Josh Windass is nearing the Ibrox exit door. Picture: SNS

The 24-year-old signed a three-year contract after Rangers accepted an offer for the player, thought to be in the £2.5million range.

It was then a rush for the Greater Manchester side to get the deal over the line before the English transfer window shut after 5pm.

Though the deadline came and went with no announcement, Wigan have since confirmed that the transfer went through.

It ends a two-year association for the attacker and the Ibrox club. Originally signed in the summer of 2016, Windass bagged 18 goals in all competitions last term and had featured in all five of Steven Gerrard’s matches since the ex-Liverpool star became manager.

While he admits it was touch to leave Ibrox, Windass felt the lure of returning down south was too strong.

The player told his new club’s website: “It’s been a strange day; I woke up this morning to get to Ibrox to get on the coach to play in the game tonight and then next minute I get a phone call and I’m here to do a medical.

“It wasn’t an easy decision to make to be honest because I’ve been playing a lot at Rangers, but I spoke to the manager this morning when I got the call and I felt the best thing was to come here to try and prove myself and get this team up the league.

“It’s a good first game to come into and hopefully we can get a good result and start my career off here strong.

“I’ll let people judge me for themselves but I’m quite quick and like to score goals and get myself in the team every week and improve.”